Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 Early Qualification Predictions

[TeamGB 173]

2 hours ago, Josh said:

I’m no expert on British athletes/sport, but as an avid watcher of a ton of sporting events (not saying you don’t), particularly curling and hockey so I have a few conflicting viewpoints here.

 

In freestyle skiing, I think your predictions are good but I’d say 3 on the men’s side. Davies in ski cross, and Fenely and Jeannesson in moguls will probably qualify. 
 

In snowboarding, more specifically snowboard cross, I think Nightingale will qualify. FYI there’s no specific qualification pathway for mixed team, you just need to qualify one person per gender. 
 

In curling, I’d have to assume your opinion has changed since the European Championships? British women’s curling didn’t have the greatest of seasons in 2023-24. I personally think it’ll be close; Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, South Korea, United States, Japan (and Italy) for sure. Then a couple of Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, and maybe China or Turkey. 

 

As for hockey…. had to chuckle when I read that because sorry, but your men’s team had no chance at all, especially in the most stacked group of the tournament with both Denmark and Norway… 

I'll give you the curling comments based on your expertise. But, I will say that GB have only ever not qualified a curling team once, the mixed pair in 2018. They just have a way of upping their game when the olympics come around. 

 

I hope I'm wrong but I have a funny feeling that Huw Nightingale won't qualify and as such neither will the Mixed Team. It feels a bit like the Mixed Team Skeet in Paris, where Ben Llewellin missed out on qualifying for the individual so the team couldn't compete, despite being World Champions 2 years prior. 

 

Again, you definately know more about ice hockey than me but I feel like, apart from vs Norway, the Team wasn't outplayed in the final qualifier. Albeit intermittently, the team has been in the top division of the world championships for a few years now, so they do have the quality to compete for an Olympic Berth